ល្អណាស់
l'a nah
The English phrase "very good" is translated into Khmer as ល្អណាស់ (l'a nah).
ល្អណាស់ is used to describe something of high quality or to express strong approval.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective ល្អ (good) followed by the intensifier ណាស់ (very).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Khmer, the intensifier ណាស់ (very) is placed after the adjective it modifies.
How do you pronounce it?
l'a nah
Did you know?
- Because Khmer is a non-tonal language, the meaning of ល្អណាស់ depends entirely on the vowel length and consonant sounds, unlike its neighbors Thai or Vietnamese.
- Khmer has different ways of saying 'good' depending on the social rank of the person you are speaking to, though ល្អណាស់ is generally acceptable in common speech.
- While ល្អណាស់ means 'very good', if you want to say 'very good' regarding a person's character or talent, Cambodians often use the word ពូកែ (skilled/smart) instead.
Examples in context
- ម្ហូបនេះល្អណាស់។mhoup nih lo-or nah.This food is very good.
- ការងាររបស់អ្នកល្អណាស់។kar-ngiar ro-bos neak lo-or nah.Your work is very good.
- គាត់រៀនបានល្អណាស់។koat rien ban lo-or nah.He studies very well.
Example conversation
Sreyny shows Ratanak a painting she made.
- រតនៈ Ratanakរូបភាពនេះស្អាត ហើយល្អណាស់ ស្រីនី។roub-pheap nih s-art haey l-ar nah Sreyny.This picture is beautiful and very good, Sreyny.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyអរគុណច្រើន រតនៈ។orkun chreun Ratanak.Thank you very much, Ratanak.
- រតនៈ Ratanakតើអ្នករៀនគូររូបនៅឯណា?tae nek rien kou-roub nov ae na?Where did you learn to paint?
- ស្រីនី Sreynyខ្ញុំរៀននៅផ្ទះដោយខ្លួនឯង។khnom rien nov pteah doy kloun eng.I learned at home by myself.
